October Road

I am a shameless lover of traditions, which most of you know by now. I don't need overly big and elaborate annual events but I love going back to the same thing year after year, hopefully drilling into my own kids' memories the same sorts of things that I (and John) enjoyed as small people. It really doesn't need to be a perfect or amazing outing each year; it's always the funny or totally wacky times that you remember as an adult anyway (like the many number of years that we froze our tushies off waiting for my persnickity brother to find the perfect Christmas tree that only he was qualified to pick. We tromped around in more circles...). What's important to me, though, is that we do it -- adding or substituting people along the way -- and that we make the effort to spend the time together. Simply picking out a pumpkin or sitting around a Thanksgiving table or opening presents together on Christmas morning is not going to solve the world's problems nor is it a panacea for the bumps in the road that come with raising children. What it does mean, though, is that we care enough to create opportunities to be in each other's presence. It means that our idea of family can be as small as the four of us or as large as the number of people who can crowd around a table. It means that we create shared experiences so that we have a common thread running through us for the rest of our lives. It helps build, I think, part of the foundation that create strong family bonds that will allow us to navigate those bumpy roads with each other. I  love the everyday stuff of family life but I also really, really love when the everyday gets punctuated by the extraordinary. It's fun for the day but it becomes more than a single day's memory when it's woven into the tapestry of "we do this every year". Sometimes, wearing rose colored glasses to see our little universe is the best thing we can do for ourselves. It's a way to restore our souls. I drink up these traditions and it's why when the autumn equinox rolls around on the calendar, I start getting really excited. All times of the year have their own wonderful traditions but the ones from October to December hold special magic for me. For one thing, I'm allowed to break out my tchotchkes and decorate the nooks and crannies that seem a little spartan the rest of the year. And it just rolls on from there. The trip to the pumpkin patch is one of my all time favorites and this year we were able to enjoy it with the cousins and Uncle Eric and Auntie Holly. I don't know if it's the mazes or the six inches of inevitable mud or the weird, slightly out of place, people/events that pop up, or finding the perfect orange globe (or gourd) but I really love the pumpkin patch. This year being no exception, and with the added benefit of the smell of horse manure to make things even earthier (oh, New Hampshire, you're in my blood), we had a good time. Jack loved the tractor ride, the girls did the hay maze twenty times and got to ride on ponies, and I made our family lug home big pumpkins. It's just the beginning of the season but so far, it's off to a good start. 

Which way is out?

No time to talk, must navigate my way through.

The crew.

Nice. Really nice. 

Waiting in line is much more fun with a friend. 

So is the tractor ride.

Unless you're this guy, in which case it's just amazingly fun. 

I can't pick this up but you can, Dad.

Ummm... I believe that was purchased for my benefit?